NeonPunch (Korean네온펀치) was a South Korean girl group formed by A100 Entertainment. The lineup originally consisted of Dayeon, Terry, Baekah, May, and Iaan, and they released their debut mini-album Moonlight on June 27, 2018. Terry left the group the following January and was replaced by Dohee. NeonPunch released their second and final mini-album Watch Out January 30, 2019, and disbanded on August 11, 2020.

NeonPunch
NeonPunch performing at the 4th Happy Festival of Urban Kids, November 2019
Background information
OriginSeoul, South Korea
GenresK-pop
Years active2018 (2018)–2020 (2020)
LabelsA100
Past members
  • Dayeon
  • Terry
  • Baekah
  • May
  • Iaan
  • Dohee
Websiteneon-punch.com

History

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2017–2018: Formation and debut

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On February 7, 2017, A100 Entertainment announced that they would be doing their first girl group project via their YouTube channel and started uploading covers of the group. There was a various number of members throughout the project that were always masked and kept their identities a secret while they did the covers. The number of members changed until only five members remained and they formed the final line-up. On October 2, A100 announced that their girl group will be named NeonPunch and introduced the members through a teaser for their pre-debut reality show. The members were Dayeon, Hajeong, Baekah, Arang, and Iaan.[1] NeonPunch auditioned for JTBC's reality show, Mix Nine,[2] but only Baekah passed the audition stage and made it onto the show.[3]

On April 13, 2018, A100 announced that NeonPunch would be the new model for Beauty brand DPC. The members of the group were Baekah, Dayeon, and Iaan with new members May and Terry. The group was stated to debut at the end of May.[4] On May 8, A100 announced that the debut was postponed to June, and the five members Baekah, Dayeon, Iaan, May and Terry were confirmed as the final members of NeonPunch.[5]

 
NeonPunch performing "Moonlight" in June 2018; from left: Terry, Iaan, Dayeon, May, Baekah

On June 27, 2018, NeonPunch released their first single album, Moonlight, along with the eponymous lead single.[6][7] On June 30, they made their official debut stage on the music program MBC's Show! Music Core.[8] On October 4, A100 announced that Terry had taken a break for personal reasons and had not explained anything further.[citation needed]

2019–2020: Watch Out and disbandment

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On January 16, 2019, A100 had revealed that Terry would permanently leave the group for health reasons. In her stead, new member Dohee joined the group prior to the group's January comeback.[9] On January 30, NeonPunch released their second mini album Watch Out and its lead single "Tic Toc".[10]

On August 11, 2020, A100 Entertainment announced that NeonPunch had disbanded, due in part to the label's financial hardships exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[11] Shortly after, it was announced by the label that Dayeon, Baekah, and Iaan would be debuting as a trio named XUM on August 25. The debut was delayed to September 24, after one of their staff members had come into contact with someone who had COVID-19.[12][13] The group XUM later disbanded on June 1, 2021.

Members

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  • Dayeon (다연) – leader (2018–2020)
  • Terry (테리) (2018–2019)
  • Baekah (백아) (2018–2020)
  • May (메이) (2018–2020)
  • Iaan (이안) (2018–2020)
  • Dohee (도희) (2019–2020)

Discography

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Extended plays

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Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[14]
Moonlight
Track listing
  1. Moonlight
  2. Moonlight (CHN Ver.)
  3. Moon Light (Inst.)
37
Watch Out
  • Released: January 30, 2019
  • Label: A100 Entertainment, Genie Music
  • Format: CD, digital download
Track listing
  1. Watch Out (Intro)
  2. Tic Toc
  3. Like it
  4. Goodbye
  5. My Friends
45

Singles

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Title Year Album
"Moonlight" 2018 Moonlight
"Tic Toc" 2019 Watch Out

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2019 NeonPunch 25th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards – Female Rookie of the Year Award Won [16]

References

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  1. ^ "'新 걸그룹' 네온펀치, 웹 예능 리얼리티 '아이돌의 조건'으로 첫 인사". Next Daily. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "A100 네온펀치X전예임, '믹스나인' 출연…센터 도전장 내민다". Next Daily. October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  3. ^ "A100 김수아는 누구? '믹스나인' 첫 순위 발표식서 62계단 '껑충'". Next Daily. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
  4. ^ "뷰티 브랜드 DPC, 광고모델로 신예 걸그룹 '네온펀치' 발탁". Joins News. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "네온펀치, 최종멤버 5인 확정…데뷔 카운트다운 돌입". Xports News. May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "'신예' 네온펀치, '문라이트'로 기존 걸그룹과 차별화 꾀한다". Next Daily. June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  7. ^ "[팝업★]"양현석도 홀렸다"…'데뷔' 네온펀치, 가요계 강력 '한방' 날릴까". Herald POP. June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  8. ^ "'음악중심' 네온펀치, 펑키+발랄 '문라이트' 완벽한 무대". Biz Enter. June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  9. ^ "네온펀치, 새 멤버 도희 영입..1월 말 컴백 확정(공식)" (in Korean). January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  10. ^ "네온펀치, 당찬 컴백 출사표 #탄산돌 #새 멤버 #1000만뷰 [종합]". Xports News. January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  11. ^ "네온펀치 측 "5인조 완전체 해체…3인조 재데뷔 예정"[공식]". MK. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  12. ^ Jung, Byeong-keun (August 12, 2020). 네온펀치→3인조 썸, 25일 'Ddalala'로 재데뷔. The Fact (in Korean). Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "[단독] 걸그룹 썸, 코로나19 검사 받는다…네온펀치 해체후 재데뷔". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  14. ^ "Gaon Chart – Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  15. ^ "Circle Chart" 2019년 01월 Album Chart [January 2019 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  16. ^ Lee, Da-kyeom (March 25, 2019). 네온펀치, '2019 대한민국 연예예술상' 신인상 쾌거. Star Today (in Korean). Retrieved August 12, 2020.
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